EMMA - Chapter 6

I waited patiently near the door as my owner paid the Lady Zoi, I was stiff now but the pain from the whipping was fading and would soon disappear thanks to the salve that the physician had applied. I was paying attention to the conversation they were having since it was about me and I could not help but notice that my Master deferred to her. She told him exactly what she had told me she would.

He gave a command and I stood, turning to allow him to place the cuffs on me, however he turned me back around and cuffed my hands in front of me I lifted my head slightly and waited for the click of the leash.

Unbidden, I thanked the Mistress for not only her kind words but for making me feel better. Then, with a tug of the leash we were out the door and heading home.

My Master was unusually quiet as we walked back home and I was thankful for the bandages on the dusty street. My back and ass still hurt with every step but the pain was at least bearable now. Here and there another would gasp or nod his or her head in silent greeting or support. The free pretty much ignored me.

It wasn’t until we stopped for my Master to speak to free man in the market that I caught sight of myself in the glass window behind them. I was a mess.

My normally shoulder length red hair which was cut in such a way to highlight my face was full of tangles. My face was puffy and my cheeks were stained with tears, my greenish brown eyes were a bright red. The bandages covered me from my shoulders down to make a tight one piece, Mistress Zoi’s bandages had left my ass slightly exposed and by turning slightly I could see the angry X’s that he had placed on me.

I remembered her words, said so lightly at the time but now I shuddered. “He knew what he was doing; some other idiot probably would have killed you.”

Up until this moment, I hadn’t really considered that. I knew it happened; life in Ish could be hard for a . One heard stories of how a girl was drowned, or how a male had been burned at the stake for some perceived slight.

I also believed that I would not be a forever. I figured that one day he would make a mistake and I would slip out in the middle of the night and be free once more.

That somehow I could run away, to find a ship that would take me home. Now though I was starting to wonder if I should or even if it was possible. The silver collar around my neck was keyless, as were the small ankle and wrist cuffs. Slavery was commonplace around the city and I was marked as property. Even if I could escape, would I be able to hide on a ship undetected for the three or four days it would take me to return to the River Lands?

If I ran north I would find myself in another kingdom, they had slaves too. To the East was the marshes full of wild animals and fearful men.

Even if I could run away, escape to a ship and hideaway what would await me at home? I would be free in the River Lands, but my past as a would mean a husband and family would be out of the question. The shame would be to much to make me a prospect for marriage.

The girl in the reflection looked so tiny and delicate, not like I pictured myself at all. I felt like crying again, but a tug on the chain and a sharp “Emma, come girl” brought me back around. We wandered through the market from stall to stall and I held a basket in my cuffed hands that he placed a variety of things. He stopped at a fish monger’s and picked up a nice sea bass.

We were moving through the streets again, heading home. I watched him as he walked, “He knew what he was doing, some other idiot probably would have killed you” the Mistress said. I knew a few of the merchants, a few were kind, and some were not. Here and there another would let slip something about their Masters or those they knew…I knew the fish monger liked to drink for example. When he drank he became angry, and he took out that anger on a young boy who was his apprentice. I had a kind and good Master.

I thought back to the last few months, he had been nice to me. Even when he me and took my virginity all those months ago…he had been…gentle? Yes, gentle about it. Even when he called me to his bed in the months that followed he had been kind, I even had an orgasm or three when he touched me…and there was one or two nights when I had begged to be taken into his strong arms.

The truth of the matter was that I didn’t mind the sex. He enjoyed the pleasure he gave me as much as I did, I could see it in his face…and I certainly did enjoy the little quakes that shook me when he touched me.

Nor did I mind the other parts of being a , it was not that much different than my home life when I was free. I prepared the meals, did the laundry, cleaned…the only difference is that I had less work to do at Master’s home than I did when I was free. My mother was often out working in the market, and my little sister had been lazy. I loved the garden out back and had even planted some flowers in it. He had encouraged me to plant more fruit and vegetables. We now had a goat I considered a pet.

He tugged again and I quickened my pace. We were nearly home now.

I tried hard not to think of home. My father was a fisherman and one day the boat he was on did not come home. My mother was offered some paltry amount by the other fisherman in the village. An older man that my father called his friend, yet who often glared with lust in his eyes at my younger sister and I offered to take us in…my mother had refused. Perhaps it was the sea bass that made me think of home.

Then I met the man I thought I loved for a moment. His name was Drake and he had flowing raven hair and dark, stormy eyes; and he promised to take me and my sister away from the village. Maybe it was anger over my father’s . Maybe it was just the stupidity of a young girl following her heart….but I ran away with the sexy boy with the dark eyes…and into the chains of a slaver.

I tried not to think of my mother and sister, and I felt tears rising in my eyes again. In fact, I realized that I missed them less now than I did six months ago.

“Emma, prepare dinner. I think that fish will be fine this evening.” My Master said as he opened the door and undid the leash and cuffs.

“Of course, Master.” I said automatically. Then I went to the kitchen while he settled in to read. I liked it when he read to me. He was found of poetry and his rich baritone filled the room when he spoke. I was a lucky girl. I was starting to realize that now.

It was stupid for me to question him I knew. The marks on my back would heal and I would be stiff for a bit, but the words of the Mistress still echoed in my head. I would have to make sure that I obeyed and pleased him more in the future…I liked the Mistress, but had no desire to see her again soon.

I seasoned the fish with the ingredients of my homeland, if there was anything a fisherman’s daughter knew how to do was prepare fish.

“Master,” I called out from the kitchen, “can I fetch you a drink?” I needed to do better, be better.

He answered and I quickly made the drink the way he liked it, I stoked the fire for the fish and knew it would take a few minutes to warm the stove.

I walked as gracefully as I could in my bandages and stiffness to him and lowered myself to the ground in a single move, just as the dance class he was making me take had showed me. “Master, your drink. I hope you find it refreshing.” I stated.

He never even looked up from the book, “Thank you Emma,” he said, “just place it on the table.”

I looked at him and said “Master, can I ask you a question?”…..then just as quickly I lowered my head and mumbled “I’m sorry Master, never mind. I am sorry to bother you.”

He looked up with a curious look and then waived me off. I returned to the kitchen a little mad and disappointed in myself. I had so much I wanted to tell him, to ask him. I had desired to please him.

I returned to making dinner, grilling the fish and preparing the vegetables and soup that would accompany the dish.

We ate in silence. He feeding me by hand and when finished placing the plate on the floor beside him, I hated this part, it made me feel like an animal but I finished the two pieces of fish that he had left and a few vegetables the way that I had been trained to.

“Emma that may have been the best fish that I’ve ever had.”

I was beaming now.

He sat in the chair again and with his finger called me to him. “Emma, what did you want to ask me earlier?”

“Nothing Master, I just wanted to let you know that I was sorry. Truly sorry, and will do better to please you in the future. “

He stroked my hair and I saw softness in his face. He bent over slightly and gave me a light kiss on the forehead. “You may pleasure me with your mouth Emma.”

I nodded, wanting to please him. I lowered my head to his crouch and undid the buttons; he was kind enough to rise slightly to allow me to slide his pants to his ankles. His member was already stirring to life as I planted a kiss on its head.

“Do you know why I beat you Emma?”

I continued to kiss his penis, “Because I spoke back to you Master.”

He reached down and stroked my hair, it felt nice and I was not worried he would grab it and punish me again…I licked his balls and he groaned.

“Yes Emma, I don’t think you truly know your place.”

“I am learning it Master.” I said. “I am learning it.”